To Be Given Eternity
by Aniyu Shadowraven
Summary: Sector Seven was disbanded, but its members didn't stop existing. They have a new goal, but in the process of trying to reach that goal, they made a monumental mistake with surprising consequences. But are these strictly consequences? Or a gift that could make all the difference in the war against the Decepticons and in the endeavor to make a new home on Earth? Only time will tell.
1. Arc1 Prologue

**Aniyu: So, this idea smacked me upside the head while I was outlining the next chapter of my other Transformers fic, _Because of Renegade_. So, I decided I will work on them as simultaneously as I can. BTW, the next chapter of that will be up soon, I'm still fleshing it out.**

**Anayi: Assuming you don't get distracted…**_**Again.**_

**Aniyu: (sticks out tongue) Hush up, I can't help how my brain and my attention span plot against me.**

**Anayi: If you say so, dear.**

**Aniyu: Anyway, hey Optimus! Can you do the disclaimer, pretty please?**

**Optimus: (vents softly) Aniyu does not own Transformers in any of its incarnations. Therefore suing would be a pointless endeavor.**

**Aniyu: Also, a warning! **_There will be slash of the mech/mech variety, but surprisingly no bot/human pairings this time around._** Well, not in the normal sense. You'll see what I mean! Also, this story is not has not been Beta-read, so if anyone would like to point out any particularly glaring grammar and spelling mistakes, I would be much obliged.**

**Anayi: R&amp;R, but don't bother flaming; you will be laughed at and ignored. Or used to roast Sentinel, which ever comes to mind first.**

::…Blah…:: **is Cybertronian**

/...Blah…/ **is mental speech through a bond or comm**

**Cybertronian Time and Terms (courtesy of and adjusted from Pagen Godess www. fanfiction s/ 4489172/ 1/ Transformers-Dictionary):**

**Astrosecond **_~.498 seconds_

**Breem **_~8.3 minutes_

**Cycle **_~1.25 hours_

**Deca-cycle **_~10 days_

**Groon **_~45 minutes_

**Joor **_~6.5 hours_

**Klik **_~1.2 minutes_

**Megacycle **_~1 hour_

**Meta Cycle **_~1 year_

**Nano-klik **_~1-2 seconds_

**Orbital Cycle **_~1 day_

**Orn **_~20 days_

**Solar Cycle **_~14.6 hours_

**Stellar Cycle **_~16.2 months_

**Vorn **_~83 years_

**Holoform:** _hardlight projections formed by Cybertronian nannies for another method of inconspicuous movement among natives of a planet. Example-Humans._

**Frag:** _'fuck', 'fuck it all'_

**Slag:** _'shit', 'crap', 'damn it'_

**Sparkmate:** _Cybertronian equivalent of soul mate_

**Guardian:** _a protection bond between a Cybertronian and a charge; capable of mental link if bond is strong enough_

Prologue

It should have been the beginning of at least a short-lived peace when the Fallen was killed and the sun harvester was destroyed. The Decepticons had gone into hiding to lick their wounds, N.E.S.T. was expanding and gaining better funding –though the lack of a competent, tolerant liaison was still a problem–, and Sam had decided to give his first semester of college one more try before deciding if he wanted to switch to online classes instead.

Even better, Optimus and Sam were able to use the Matrix of Leadership to reignite the sparks of Arcee and Jazz, just in time for their Sparkmates', Cliffjumper and Prowl respectively, arrival on Earth. At the time, the only sorrow was that Flareup and Moonracer were unable to be reignited, and so Arcee was without her partners.

They should have realized something was bound to go wrong when Simmons voiced concerns that some of the disbanded Sector Seven members had completely vanished off the grid.

…

"You sure you can't stick around for a little bit, 'Hide? You know Sarah is always happy to see you," Will asked as he unbuckled himself, absently stroking a hand over the Topkick's dash. "And Annabelle never passes up an opportunity to see her _'Papa Hide'_."

Ironhide shifted a bit, wavering before his engine gave an audible sigh. "If I wasn't sure Prowl would have my aft for being late for patrol, I would, Will. I'll swing by before you all sit down for breakfast so I can greet Sarah and the sparklet before we head back to base."

Smiling as Ironhide grumbled about Prowl being a pain in his aft, Will hopped out and firmly patted the hood. "All right then, we'll see you in the morning, 'Hide."

The Topkick rumbled under Will's hand in acknowledgement and the transformer's own brand of affection before carefully backing out. The recently promoted Lieutenant-Colonel lingered on the dirt drive as he watched Ironhide leave before heading inside to wait for his wife and daughter to come home, Sarah having already texted him to say they were at the town farmers' market.

About an hour later, Will heard the old family pick-up pull in and went out to help his girls unload, scooping up Annabelle as she ran to greet him.

"Daddy, daddy! Papa Hide here?"

"No, sweetheart, he'll be here at breakfast in the morning though," Will assured the excitable five year-old, setting her back down so she could take a seat on the porch to watch her parents.

Will had just greeted Sarah and was reaching for the bag of potatoes when he heard the sound of another vehicle coming down the drive. Straightening back up, Will narrowed his eyes at the black SUV, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up even as he waited for the vehicle to stop. The SUV did stop, the driver's side window rolling down to reveal a nondescript balding male in what Will would guess to be his mid-forties, a sheepish smile on the worn face.

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but could we get some directions? We were trying to take a back route to Interstate 5, but I think we got turned around."

Blinking in surprise, Will couldn't help but let out a low whistle at that. "Wow, you over-shot fair bit. How long have you been driving around out this way?"

That sheepish smile deepened a bit. "Uh, about two hours, give or take…"

"Only because you refused to stop sooner!" Will heard a distinctly female voice gripe from inside the SUV. "What is it with men and asking for directions?!"

Unable to help but chuckle at that, Will slowly strolled forward to not only better speak with the driver, but to hopefully get a look inside the vehicle to reassure himself that these were just lost civilians. He barely got even with the front bumper of the vehicle when a mini-dart bit into his chest.

"Fuck!" Will hissed as whatever was in the dart acted terrifyingly fast, his vision swimming and darkness closing in as he fell to his knees. "Sarah, run…!"

The beautiful blonde gasped in horror as she saw and heard her husband, turning to run and grab Annabelle. She made it three strides before a dart hit her too. "Run, 'Belle!"

Little Annabelle let out a cry, clutching her black teddy bear Blackhide tightly as she got up and ran into the house. As she hid in the space between the living room wall and the couch, Annabelle remembered her Papa Hide telling her that if anything happened to her mommy and daddy to take the bow off Blackhide's neck and push the button attached to the ribbon so he could find her. She did exactly as she was told, and out of a need for comfort, retied the bow around her own neck.

Annabelle had just picked her bear back up when the man from the SUV found her and leveled a gun at her. "All right, little girl. You and your parents are coming on a little trip."

Crying, as she remembered her daddy and Papa Hide telling her that guns hurt a lot, Annabelle asked, "W-Why you hurt them?"

"They're asleep, not hurt," the man replied promptly before reaching forward to grab her arm firmly. "Now come on; you can even keep your bear if you want."

Scared and not knowing what else she could do, Annabelle clutched her bear tighter and stood still, shaking. The man sighed in annoyance before just picking her up and tucking her under an arm.

He never once questioned the gray ribbon that had not been on her when she was outside.

…

Sam sighed as he leaned back in his childhood bed, back at home for mid-term break. Bumblebee had dropped him off yesterday before needing to return to base due to Prowl's patrol schedules, but had promised to come hang out with him in a couple days. Mikaela was busy at the shop for the next two days, and Miles' mid-term break didn't start until tomorrow.

In other words, Sam was stuck at home bored out of his mind.

His dad was actually away at the moment for some two day gardener's convention a couple towns over, but his mom was at home, using the opportunity to bake without restrain. Sam would stop her, but since half of what she made was going to go back with him to college, he felt it better to let her have at it.

So he was bored and being tortured by the smell of baked goodies.

Just as he was trying to figure out if it would be worth it to see if he could coax Mikaela into coming over for dinner when the shop closed for the night, Sam heard the doorbell ring. Confused, as he knew no one was expected and the mailman had already been by, Sam got up and moved to his window. He intended to just peek and see who was outside.

He instead froze in shock as he spotted two black SUVs parked on the street on either side of his driveway, mind flashing back to when Sector Seven came after him and took Bumblebee.

Acting on instinct, Sam grabbed hold of the special dog tags around his neck, gifted to him by Optimus and Will Lennox to signify him as an honorary N.E.S.T. member and Autobot ally. There was a third tag hanging on the chain, a sort of panic button the Autobots had all insisted he have. Popping out the center of the tag to activate the tracking chips in the other two tags, Sam then snapped the removed portion to signal an emergency situation.

That was all he had time to do before he heard his mother yell in what was either shock or pain. Dashing to his bedroom door, Sam swung it open just as a man dressed just like the Sector Seven agents had been got to the top of the stairs.

Sam managed to dodge the first shot, but the second caught him in the hip, the little dart glinting up at him menacingly. Darkness took him, and he barely managed a single plea before he lost consciousness.

"Bee…"

…

It was supposed to be a surprise visit to her favorite spaz out of all her human friends that knew about the Autobots. Maggie was not expecting to pull up to the Witwicky house to see black SUVs out front.

Getting out, worried that something had happened to Sam's parents, Maggie didn't even have time to scream when someone emerged from one of the vans as another, unseen, person shouted, "That's one of the targets!"

The mini dart caught her in the shoulder, and she was down before she even had time to process what was happening.

…

Robert Epps was not a superstitious man. But the fact that he had needed to dodge three black cats and was nearly brained by a falling ladder in the hardware store on his first day of leave from base, made him certain he was not getting any rest for the next few days.

That he never saw any attackers before the dart hit him in the back just solidified his prediction. He did make sure to drop and crush his cell phone in a _'frag you'_ move to the forces against him, knowing that his buddy Sideswipe would sense the signal from it offline.

…

Ironhide had only been on the road for one hour, nine minutes, and forty-three seconds human time when everything went to the Pit. A panicked transmission from Bumblebee directed to all Autobots stated that Sam had set off both his tracer and panic button, followed immediately by a transmission from Sideswipe that Epps' cell phone had been destroyed.

And then he received the panic signal he'd had specially made for Annabelle go active, his tires squealing as he veered off the highway on the nearest exit so he could get turned around.

/Slag! The tracer and emergency signal I gave Annabelle just went live! What in the Pit is going on?!/

/Decepticons?/ was the half accusation, half query from Sideswipe, but Optimus seemed unsure.

/Perhaps, but there is also the unpleasant possibility of other forces. We will start tracking the tracers immediately, but I want Bumblebee to fetch Samuel's parents and Mikaela and bring them to the nearest base for safety. Mudflap and Skids, you both are in closest proximity to Leo and Simmons, bring them to the D.C. base./

/I'm following Annabelle's trace right now; she's on the move at a fast pace, but I can catch whoever the glitches are that have her./ Ironhide growled as he kicked up his speed several notches.

Only to have to skid to a dead halt when traffic became completely blocked due to a collapsed bridge. _Slag! Why now?!_

Unable to get out of the traffic jam due to being in the middle lane and boxed in, not to mention he couldn't transform in a public place outside of combat, Ironhide could only growl helplessly as he observed Annabelle's signal getting farther away.

Several hours later, both Sam's and Annabelle's tracers converged, stopped, and then vanished. But at least they had a location: Hoover Dam.

…

When he woke up, Sam was scared to discover he was strapped down to a table, flashes of his torture at the hands of Megatron and Scalpel flashing through his mind. He was downright horrified when he glanced around and saw not only his mom, but Will and his family, Maggie, and Epps strapped down on matching tables to either side of him.

At the moment, Annabelle was the only other one awake, and Sam felt he had to try and at least comfort her when he heard her quiet, hiccuping cries. "Annabelle? Are you hurt?"

The little girl turned her head towards Sam, answering the familiar voice. "N-No… Sc-Scared…"

Sam smiled shakily at her, wishing her could reach over to her. "I know. This is very scary, but I bet Ironhide and Bumblebee are already on their way. You know they won't let anyone hurt us without a fight."

That seemed to work wonders for the girl as she agreed fiercely. "U-Uh huh! Papa Hide make mean p-people go _boom_!"

"He might, but frankly it will be too late for all of you."

Sam and Annabelle both looked around when they heard the voice, both flinching as bright lights snapped on. Once the dots cleared from his vision, Sam glanced around to see several things that made him choke with fear.

First, the tables they were strapped to were in a clear room or box of some kind with a directional tube of some kind hanging down over each of them. It was so similar to the test box Simmons had demonstrated the power of the Allspark with that Sam felt ill.

Second, there was an observation deck outside the box occupied by several people and a few computer stations. None of the people were familiar to Sam, and he was unnerved to see the protective goggles on their faces.

Glancing back as best he could, Sam stared as he saw seven shambling, inert wrecks of what appeared to be giant robots behind the box. He saw cables attached to the chest framework –_They're practically just skeletons!_– and he was chilled to track their path with his eyes until they met with the box.

As if he had been waiting for Sam to finish observing the room, the intercom voice spoke up when Sam looked back to the observation deck. "The NBEs have proven extremely formidable, both in conflict and in politics. There's nothing really stopping them from taking over; but this is our world, not theirs. Sector Seven may have been disbanded, but that doesn't mean we've stopped existing, and we will give humanity the weapons to both fight back and progress. You seven."

Swallowing rapidly in an attempt to keep from being sick, Sam demanded, "W-What are you talking about?! What the _Pit_ are you going to do to us?!"

"The NBEs under N.E.S.T. supervision have a no harming humans policy, but considering they hold you seven as assets, we have to assume that policy will not hold when they find us. Therefore we are going to use what we have left of the power cube to make you seven into our shields first, and then our weapons once we've warded the NBEs off."

About to ask what he meant, Sam's eyes widened as symbols suddenly flashed across his vision, right as a pair of men in hazard suits unveiled a small clear box on the walkway. Sam didn't need to be close to know that the box contained a fragment of the Allspark. He wasn't stupid, he knew trying to argue with these fanatics was not going to save them, nor was he sure if the Autobots had enough time to reach them. But as he glanced to the side at the teary Annabelle, who was trying so hard to be brave, Sam knew he had to at least try to stall them.

"Why are you using Annabelle?! She's just a kid, she's got nothing to do with this!"

Activity on the walkway did pause at that, but the voice simply replied, "She is connected to the NBE associated with her father. It's also bad policy to leave loose ends that can trip you up later."

Before Sam could say another word, a man strode up to the holding box, opened a panel, and shot both him and Annabelle with darts. As he blacked out again, the last thing he heard was:

"Be glad neither of you will be awake to feel the transfer."

…

Bumblebee was trembling on his shocks as he sped with the core team and a full N.E.S.T. contingent toward the place he had once been held captive. But his memories of the place were overshadowed by his fear for his precious charge, because now their roles were reversed: Sam was being held captive and possibly being tortured and it was Bumblebee who needed to save him.

It had been a while since he had felt the need to pray, but at that moment he was praying to Primus with every circuit he could spare that Sam and the others would make it through this.

Ratchet was mentally going through every bit of medical equipment he had brought in his subspace pockets, trying to keep focused on what damage their human friends were _likely_ to have from this situation, rather than needlessly process worst case scenarios. It was the only way to keep himself from getting too angry to be useful, or to reach the point of shooting first and asking questions later like Ironhide was.

Not that he blamed his friend for that. With little Annabelle in danger, as well as her parents, it was a miracle that the Topkick _hadn't_ shot off ahead of them to kill everything between him and his charges.

Jazz was worried. Worried for Bumblebee, who likely didn't realize the extent of how much he cared for Sam, and just how broken he would be if the boy died this day. Worried for Ratchet, whose spark would likely break if they lost all of those captured, which was not a pleasant thing for anyone but especially not a medic. Worried for Ironhide, who was radiating killing intent for those who had taken the family he guarded, the family he had come to love as his own. Worried for Optimus, who was having an obvious inner battle between worry for those taken and rage for the kidnappers, and there was no way to tell at the moment which emotion would win the battle.

And he worried for their captured friends, praying that Primus either spare them or take them to the Well with as little suffering as possible.

Ironhide's vision was tinged with red; if he had been in his bi-pedal form at that moment, there were few doubts that he could have given the Decepticons a run for their money on who's optics were a more hellish color. There was no way to truly confirm at the moment what the condition of any of his three charges were, but Ironhide would bet his precious cannons that were not in perfect health mentally or physically, based solely on the feeling in his spark.

It would be a miracle if there were anything more than ashes to send to the Pit when Ironhide was through with those who had taken his family.

One would think Optimus would be used to struggling between his emotions, but that couldn't be further from the truth. There was the Prime, who was calm and duty oriented, who was worried for his friends, comrades, and soldiers. And there was Orion Pax, who felt burning anger that some of his precious friends and allies had been kidnapped and were likely being harmed even as they drew close.

The only thing both halves that made up Optimus agreed on was that he would save his friends or die trying. Something that the mech felt would not be easy as the Matrix of Leadership pulsed in its hidden compartment with something like recognition the closer they came to the dam, which only left him feeling dread.

The next thirty minutes it took to reach the dam and burst down through the levels of the hidden base went by like lightning. The events of the five minutes after that, starting when they broke into a sub-level even Simmons hadn't known about, crawled by so agonizingly slow it was hard to tell time was passing at all…

TBC…

**Anayi: …Should there be a warning for character death at this point?**

**Aniyu: Nope…Yes… Maybe?**

**Anayi: (sighs) Again, please R&amp;R. But, proceed to the next chapter first, since my charge is posting two together.**


	2. Arc1 Chapter1

**Aniyu: Still don't own, so no suing!**

**Anayi: Warning for character death…sort of… Oh just read it all ready.**

::…Blah…:: **is Cybertronian**

/...Blah…/ **is mental speech through a bond or comm**

Ch1

"Sir, it seems we've been found," one of the males stationed beside the Allspark shard pointed out nervously, eyeing the walls of the massive chamber as they shook from the crashes and/or explosions that could be heard from above.

The man being addressed –the same man who had led the ambush against the Lennox family– raised an eyebrow balefully. "Your point? Start the procedure. The sooner we start, the sooner our shields will be ready."

There was a rapid typing of keys at all computer stations before the woman manning the computer closest to the shard intoned, "Start the energy transfer in three…two…one…zero."

Just as the nervous man who had spoken originally pulled the lever on the side of the shard's containment box, part of the ceiling and most of the wall to the far right of the walkway collapsed under the ministrations of the Autobots and N.E.S.T..

…

The moment N.E.S.T. and the Autobots crashed into the huge chamber, energy from what the bots were stunned to identify as an Allspark shard was siphoned and forced on to the seven prone bodies strapped down in the large containment room. Unconscious and drugged though the seven were, all of them screamed with agony as the energy lashed their bodies.

Those screams went silent after only a few seconds, even as energy continued to pool in the box. Ratchet stumbled with horror as the scans he had activated the moment he spotted their friends flashed back a single red message: **PATIENTS OFF-LINED.**

Ironhide and Bumblebee, who had sub-protocols dedicated to automatically scanning their charges upon gaining first visual of them, felt their sparks freeze and break as they both saw and felt those tiny hearts stop. The last screams of their charges ringing in their audios and their processors flashing memories of when their precious ones were safe, both bots howled with grief at the loss that rattled in their chassis. Bumblebee rushed toward the coffin-like box, denial screaming through his systems as he tried to process any way he could revive Sam. Ironhide just swung his cannons toward the humans on the walkway.

Jazz quickly grabbed hold of Ironhide, throwing his aim off while calling orders to the N.E.S.T. contingent to apprehend the humans, preferably before Ironhide could shoot them. Ratchet was on Bumblebee's heels, though he was torn between holding the scout back and helping him. Optimus was in a state of shock, taking a single step forward, unable to believe his sensors and optics.

And then he fell to his knees with a grunt of pain as the Matrix of Leadership tried to force its way out of its compartment behind his chest plates.

Opening his chest plates enough to let the Matrix out without rendering his spark vulnerable, the helix dagger-like object shot like a bullet toward the Allspark shard. The container shattered on impact, stopping the flow of energy into the pseudo death chamber –though the energy all ready inside continued to churn and crackle around the bodies. The two Cybertronian artifacts then zipped forward, crashing and entering into the glass chamber.

The Matrix spun, twisting the energy like a cyclone, while the shard glowed like a miniature sun before splitting into seven pieces. Those glowing pieces of Allspark shard then slammed down into the chests of the prone bodies, some of the twisting energy spiraling around and into the places of impact. Then, from each body emerged a pulsing orb of power that the Autobots were stunned to recognize as sparks.

As the sparks hovered in the air, the cyclone of energy slammed through the containment box and descended on the seven metal shambles the Autobots hadn't taken notice of before. To the shock and awe of all present, the metal skeletons and all the nearby loose metal twisted and writhed before reforming into recognizably Cybertronian bodies of varying sizes.

Finally, those seven sparks blasted forward into the chests of the new metal bodies, causing them to lurch, sputter, and cry out as seven sets of blue optics snapped online for the first time. The Autobots all rushed forward to assist the new bots as they began to struggle against the cables and racks holding them up, while the N.E.S.T. operatives shook themselves out of their stunned stupor to rush the group on the walkway. When things finally started calming down, Bumblebee could be seen cradling a mech slightly smaller than himself while Ironhide had a mech and femme curled up into his sides while a femme sparkling was curled in his lap. Jazz was carefully bracing a mech the same general size as Ironhide, while Ratchet was speaking soothingly to a pair of femmes that were leaning against each other in obvious exhaustion.

And Optimus stood before them, examining the new bots with awe between glancing at the Matrix, which gently bobbed in his left servo as if pleased with itself.

It took a moment or two, but Optimus finally dragged his processor out its stupor and tucked the Matrix away before turning toward the N.E.S.T. troops. Graham, who was acting as commander in the absence of Lennox and Epps, saluted without letting go of his own prisoner.

"Orders, Optimus, sir?"

Thinking for a nano-klik, Optimus narrowed his optics at the ones in custody, anger simmering in his spark. "First, knock out the prisoners; there is a smaller chance for them to cause more trouble that way."

Like a well-oiled machine, no pun intended, every soldier holding a prisoner immediately either sharply hit the back of their captives' necks or pressed a certain pressure point, and within five seconds every prisoner was out like a light. Optimus spared a thought to wish certain mechs under his command –_Mudflap and Skids_– could be as prompt about their orders, before he glanced at the seven still bodies in the ruined glass chamber.

Pain and sorrow stabbed his spark at the sight of the lifeless, lightly charred bodies, and he had to vent heavily for a moment before returning his solemn gaze to Graham. "Call for air transport to Diego Garcia; the D.C. base would not be the best place to go for now. And…see if something can be found to cover them."

The British man glanced at the seven bodies himself with sad eyes before saluting Optimus in acknowledgement and starting on his orders.

Optimus returned his attention to the new Cybertronians when he heard two femme cries at the mention of the bodies. The Prime moved forward to help comfort the two femmes Ratchet was watching over, even as his audios picked up the muttered curses from the older two new mechs and the little whimper from the young mech in Bumblebee's servos.

"Wh-What did those…_beasts_ do to us?" was the slightly warbled question from the femme with the recognizable –if a little mechanical– voice of Judy Witwicky.

"_Why_ did they do this to us?" was the more insistent question from the femme beside Judy, Maggie's voice sounding particularly odd as her Australian accent was undercut by the whirrs of her new vocal processors.

As Ratchet was directly in front of Maggie, Optimus moved to Judy and kneeled in front of her, holding his servos out in an offer of comfort. The femme shockingly took them, squeezing tightly as Optimus took an astrosecond to formulate a reply.

"Why those people did this is unclear at this time…and what they intended to do can only be speculated until we can question them. As for what happened…" Optimus hesitated here, before softening his voice as best he could. "It will take a great deal of analyzing and speculation to determine how this was possible, but we do know that a shard of the Allspark and the Matrix somehow converted your souls to sparks and transferred them into these bodies. As…unconventional as it was, that action saved your lives."

Judy slumped down a bit at this, optics dimming with helplessness. "But will that life be worth living…? How am I going to tell Ron about this?"

"We'll tell him together, Mom," came Sam's voice from the mech in Bumblebee's protective embrace, quieter and gentler than Optimus had ever heard it. "And trust me, its better we ended up like this than…in what those _madmen_ were going to put us in."

Spark clenching in concern and horror –_Had Sam been awake the whole time they were captive?_–, Optimus asked, "Sam…Were you awake when they forced the Allspark energy on you all?"

A shake of the head gave Optimus some relief, but it was short-lived with what the former teen said next. "I…I woke up for a bit and saw the…_wrecks_ they were going to put us in, or try to. And one of the men told me and Annabelle what they were going to do…"

"You were awake too, 'Belle?" The femme curled against Ironhide's side keened in Sarah's voice, reaching trembling servos to stroke the faceplates of the sparkling.

"Scary man talked to us," Annabelle whimpered, nuzzling her mother's servos. "Used sleepy gun on me and Sammy."

Both Ironhide and the mech beside him –that Optimus was certain was Will Lennox– tensed up at that, optics flashing red for a moment. Ironhide held the three closer but made no sound, while the other mech gently ran a servo along Annabelle's back, asking Sam in Will's voice:

"What did he say to you, Sam?"

Sam shuddered for a moment, Bumblebee letting out a comforting whirr as he stroked a servo first against his back and then his faceplates and down his chassis. Optimus blinked a bit at that, since that was a rather intimate touch, but said nothing as Sam curled closer to the scout before answering.

"He said they were going to use us as shields against…against the Autobots and N.E.S.T., then turn us into weapons for humanity and a means of progress."

That had all of the core team venting hard, while the last new mech let out a bitter snort, the voice identifying him as Epps. "Figures, damn fanatics decided to come out of the Pit and play at God…or Primus, I guess…"

Before anything else could be said, Graham jogged over, saluting before stating, "Sir, regular transport is ETA four hours, but Silverbolt is on his way with Prowl and First Aid, ETA just under an hour..."

Noting the man's odd hesitation, Optimus calmly prompted him, "Was there something else?"

"…General Morshower is on the line inquiring about the status of the seven who were kidnapped, and says the President is asking for a status update as well. What should I relay to them, sir?"

"None of their _slagging business_ right now," Ironhide growled deeply, venting hard as Optimus sent him a sharp look. "Prime, we _can't_ just tell them seven humans were turned into Cybertronians. Both may be good men, but the people they work with would have all seven of them taken from us and studied like insects!"

"Over my rusted, off-lined frame," Bumblebee stated quietly, for once not using the radio to talk, and hugging Sam firmly.

The Autobot leader vented and gave them both a chastising look. "I have no intention of placing them in danger." Turning to Graham, Optimus stated, "Let them know that upon arrival, we found these fanatics trying to transfer the minds of our friends into the bodies of seven captured Autobots. The attempt was a failure as they were using electricity at a voltage so high they killed the seven before the rest of their procedure could be attempted. We have recovered our Autobots and the bodies of our friends and will transfer them to Diego Garcia to prepare proper funerals."

Graham gave his acknowledgement, but hesitated to leave, looking at each of the new bots in concern. "Are Lennox and the rest going to be all right?"

Ratchet was the one to reply. "I have not finished scanning them and they will need a great deal of the basic protocols each of us have, but I believe they will be fine, with time."

That seemed to reassure the soldier, as he saluted the medic and strode off to deliver the fabricated story.

Turning his optics to his leader, Ratchet huffed, "We might as well do something constructive while we wait for First Aid to get here and help me. Make a databurst of basic Cybertronian, internal comm use, and the basic strength and speed control protocols for all of them except Annabelle and directly upload it to their processors. That should be enough for now until I can properly assess what they have and need."

"And for Annabelle?" Sarah asked, one servo still idly stroking the sparkling's faceplates.

Ratchet tilted his head for a moment before replying. "For now, I will only give her the strength and speed protocols and internal comm use, but I need to program the upload to only let her consciously learn it in pieces. Overwhelming a sparkling's systems too soon is _not_ good sense, even more so since Annabelle was not originally a sparkling. I'd rather be cautious for the time being."

Relief lit the optics of Will and Sarah, Ironhide stroking a servo over their backs in comfort before running a single digit over the crown of Annabelle's helm. It was a rather tender scene, and Ratchet obligingly turned from them to give them a sense of privacy. Though, his processors did point out that Ironhide's behavior was leaning far more towards a sparkmate and family bond then that of a recently distressed guardian. He packed the thought away for later speculation, concentrating on making the data package for Maggie and checking to make sure Optimus was doing the same for Judy.

The upload process didn't take too long, a little over a breem, but it was as Ratchet was just finishing up with Annabelle that Will pointed something out.

"Wait, didn't Graham say Prowl was coming too? How're we going to explain this without setting off his logic glitch?"

That set Ratchet to cursing while most of the rest either laughed or smiled. Jazz, as Prowl's sparkmate, grinned quite broadly and practically chirped in a parody of Bumblebee. "You just leave Prowl to me; I'll take care of my mech."

"TMI, Jazz, _TMI_," Sam laughed, and the group had no doubt that if he could, he would be blushing.

The silver mech winked at Sam playfully before speaking again. "In the meantime, how about we do something a little more productive, like making sure you guys can walk? If we're going to use that cover story Optimus came up with, you guys need to at least be able to walk properly to give an illusion of being familiar with those frames."

Epps let out a little groan at that, whining, "_Frag_, I have to learn how to walk again? What's next, going through puberty all over again? 'Cause let me tell you, it _wasn't_ fun the first time…"

That startled a laugh out of everyone –including Ratchet but excepting confused little Annabelle–, and Jazz gave the mech he was bracing a little companionable shake. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Sam might, but not you, I don't think."

After a playful whine of "Stop picking on me, _Jazz_!" from Sam, the next half hour was spent helping the new Autobots learn to walk. Annabelle was actually the quickest to learn, and spent some time flitting between the others in curiosity and amusement. She then nearly gave Ratchet a spark-attack when she decided to use Ironhide as a jungle gym just long enough to situate herself on his shoulder; the medic had been afraid she'd either fall and hurt herself, or get parts of her frame caught on Ironhide's armor and tear the more delicate metal all sparklings were made of.

As Will watched his precious daughter in her new form, he thanked the stars, God, and Primus that she seemed to be coping well so far with what had happened to them. If _anything_ could give him hope for this new life they would live, it was seeing her act like the child she still was. Both Sarah and Ironhide seemed to sense and understand his thoughts, both of them grasping his servos and squeezing in support and love. The soldier gave them a slightly weary smile, leaning against Ironhide's shoulder –opposite to the one Annabelle perched on– and pulling Sarah to him in a hug. As long as he had his family, Will knew he could endure whatever this new life would inflict on him.

Sarah leaned against her husband and Ironhide equally, shuttering her optics as she vaguely felt the emotions from both mechs and Annabelle. She was not dumb by any means, she knew instinctively that it was a bit unusual for her to be so new to this body but able to sense her family all ready. And then there was the fact she could sense Ironhide; certainly she adored the gruff mech, appreciated how he protected her, her family, and his comrades, but Sarah wasn't sure that was enough to cause this ability. Making a mental note to ask Ratchet about it later –and there would certainly be a later; no doubt she'd be seeing nothing but the med-bay for days once they reached Diego Garcia–, Sarah relaxed and hummed, for now content to be held and grateful they were all alive.

Ironhide was concentrating all of his processors on his charges, refusing to let them stray to anything else. Not the glitches that had taken them, not the scene he had burst into upon arriving, not those spark-breaking screams that signaled the end of seven precious human lives. He had to concentrate on the three connected to him, or he would rampage, though the recipients of that rampage was debatable. Would it be the man he had seen in Will's memory core during the upload –the one who had played a poor hapless civilian? Would it be the entire group of men and women who had essentially experimented with his charges' lives and murdered them in a way? Would it even be Simmons, for not arguing harder to get them to spare more than a cursory glance into the disappearance of the former Sector Seven agents? No, he had to focus on his little family so he wouldn't end up going against Optimus' insistence of not harming humans. But he vowed to himself that no one, _no one_, who wasn't an Autobot or a N.E.S.T. member was going to _touch_ –let alone _harm_– these three again; anyone who dared would be getting introduced to his cannons _and would not walk away_.

Everything from the moment her mommy and daddy were hurt until that sleep gun had been used on her had been _scary_. But while she slept, Annabelle could recall feeling safe, like she was curled up in Papa Hide's cab. There had been a flash of blue-white at one point, though, and when she woke up, she had found metal on her hands. As scary as everything before that moment had been, Annabelle had been happy –she was just like Papa Hide now. Even better, her mommy and daddy were like them _too_. Her daddy and Papa Hide would be able to chase away everything scary together now, and her mommy would take care of all three of them. As far as Annabelle was concerned, everything was right with the world now.

Epps wasn't sure how to feel about the whole situation. Sure, he was pissed that he had essentially been killed, and he was _definitely pissed_ when he heard Sam say the ones responsible were going to make them into shields, weapons, and experiments. But beyond that, he was a little on the numb side. He hadn't seen his kidnappers like the Lennox family and Sam had. He hadn't been awake at any point during his time in the fanatics' custody, unlike poor Sam and Annabelle. And while he did recall a bright flash of blueish-white light, he couldn't tell if he had felt any pain during and between the moment of his human body dying and waking up in his new body. He really hoped Optimus had someone like a mental therapist among the bots, because Epps had a feeling he would need one to sort out his numb processors.

He didn't need deep scans like Ratchet or near psychic-level intuition like Optimus to know Epps needed some help. Jazz had been a sort of subtle, pseudo-guardian to the soldier since he had been revived with the Matrix. He had been the one to come up with the idea of Epps destroying his cell phone if ever he was in danger and needed Autobot back up. Jazz had also insisted that Sideswipe be the one to watch over the man if Jazz couldn't, knowing their personalities would mesh well rather than clash if something went wrong. The Pontiac transformer wondered if he could convince Ratchet to let him take care of Epps for a day or two before letting the medic have him.

There was really only one thing on Sam's processor at the moment: how was this change going to affect his relationships with everyone in his life. Some were easy to predict, such as Leo first flipping out and then commenting on how cool it was once he calmed down. But there were also those he was having a hard time predicting, his dad and Mikaela being at the top of that list. It broke his new spark to think Mikaela might completely reject having anything to do with him now; he was easily able to predict they couldn't continue a romantic relationship, but he was praying that friendship was still possible. But he truly feared what his dad's reaction would be. Ronald Witwicky had mostly tolerated Bumblebee, but had really wanted nothing to do with the rest of the Autobots, N.E.S.T., or anything government related. There was really no way to tell how he would take the fact that his wife and son were no longer human, but Sam would stand by what he told his mom earlier: they would tell him together, and come what may. At least they would have the support of the Autobots, and Bumblebee especially, if things went south.

Bumblebee was feeling a lot of guilt at the moment. Guilt that he had not been with Sam when he was kidnapped; guilt that he had not been faster to reach him before those inhuman glitches had experimented with his life. Guilt that he was happy to still have the boy alive, and would have him for a long time to come if the scout had any say in the matter. He knew Sam was in for a rough time adjusting to his new body and life, but Bumblebee could only be deliriously grateful that Primus had not taken his charge from him that day. But as he felt along the fledgling bond between them, felt Sam's worry for the future, Bumblebee chastised himself for wallowing in his own feelings rather than comforting his charge. The yellow bot sent as much reassurance and love down the bond as he could, holding his friend more firmly when Sam leaned into him in response. Nothing mattered beyond Sam right now, and the Camaro transformer vowed nothing would keep him from the new mech's side again.

Maggie was trying to ignore everything beyond what she was learning right now. Right foot, left foot. She ignored how her steps were loud, louder than any of the Autobots outside of battle ever walked. _Right_ foot, left foot. She ignored how she felt naked without the familiar feel of clothing on her body. _Right foot_, left foot. And she ignored, with supreme effort, the nearby sight of a black and white N.E.S.T. parachute being used as a cover for seven human bodies. _Right foot. Left foot._ What she couldn't ignore were the gentle servos that helped her balance when she wobbled too much. Right foot, left foot. The constant, calm encouragements that came to her over her new internal comm. Right foot, left pede. And the reassuring blue optics that Ratchet kept on her own optics with every step she took. Right pede, left foot. Maybe she could handle this new life after all, if she had a rock like Ratchet to help her. _Right pede, left pede._

Medic protocols demanded Ratchet make the seven new Cybertronians sit down and scan them until he knew how to fix them. But basic logic overrode them; there was no fixing seven dead human bodies and seven human souls transplanted into metal frames. He knew from the scans that had detected the moment the hearts had stopped that the bodies were damaged beyond the ability to live, because the hearts hadn't _just_ stopped–they had imploded. Ratchet knew that particular scan, that moment, would haunt him for many orns, but this current exercise was proving to be an excellent distraction. Poor Maggie was having quite a bit of trouble with her balance, but Ratchet attributed that to her Seeker-style frame; Seekers were known for having balancing issues on the ground, but Ratchet was confident that Maggie could overcome the problem. He had faith in her stubbornness.

It hurt, feeling so lost. Judy had spent the first few minutes of the proposed activity staring down at what acted as her feet. How could she continue on like this, as this metal shell? How could anyone look at this body and see her? What would Ron see when he looked at her? It was enough to bring the Autobot equivalent of tears to her new eyes. A gentle, strong voice had then told her through her new internal comm that she had support if she needed it, but only she could choose to take the first step. She had recognized the voice as Optimus' and had looked up at the mech as he stood patiently in front of her. A small part of her wanted to rage that he couldn't understand her pain, but the larger part of her knew it wouldn't be fair of her to take it out on the kind Prime. Instead, she had made herself look around and watch as the others learned to walk. A part of her had giggled as she watched Maggie and Ratchet, thinking how they looked like a new couple awkwardly trying to learn to dance with Maggie stumbling every once in a while. She took in how Jazz was carefully cajoling Epps not only into walking but into talking and laughing to keep him from going into mute numbness. Envy and adoration warred in her as she took in the sight of the Lennox family with Ironhide; they had each other, nothing was going to separate them without a fight, and it was both beautiful and bitter for Judy to see. And then there was her son, her precious Sammy. As his mother, she could easily read the worry and fear that lined his new frame, but she could also see the affection he held for the ever present yellow Autobot at his side. She watched as Bumblebee held Sam close in comfort and walked beside him in assurance, and Judy was grateful they had each other. It also reminded her that no matter what, she would always have her little boy behind her, and if he could be courageous and take that first step, she could too. With that thought, she returned her gaze to Optimus, who said nothing, only smiled and held up a hand for support. She took it and her first shaky step.

Optimus was gratified to see the same determination he had seen Sam display more than once on the femme that was his mother. It was so easy to tell where the boy had gotten his courage, will, and worrying nature from as the Autobot leader aided Judy in learning to walk. But it was also easy to tell what had both of them worried: Ron Witwicky. He knew from talks with Bumblebee that the man was not the most accepting person in the world, chaffed against change. He had even heard Judy complain during the ship ride from Egypt that Ron had done nothing to try anything new and fun during their vacation in France, sticking to recognizably American foods and refusing to sight-see anything that wasn't the Eiffel Tower or a souvenir shop. It made his spark ache to consider that if Ron Witwicky was unable to truly try other human cultures that he also would reject the obviously alien forms and futures of his wife and child. He could only comfort himself by asking Primus to grant them luck and vowing to himself that Judy and Sam would have all the support they needed if luck failed them.

…

"Have you decided on designations, yet?"

The Cybertronian group stopped what they were doing to turn their attention to Prowl. The 2IC had arrived with Silverbolt and First Aid an hour ago, had been debriefed, and Prowl had been dragged off to the side by Jazz to head off the imminent activation of his logic glitch. Ratchet and First Aid had gotten to work on linking to each new Autobot directly in order to fully scan their systems and determine what they needed. Silverbolt had taken to talking to Judy, Maggie, Sarah, and Epps about flying, as the three femmes had Seeker bodies while Epps was definitely an Aerialbot of some type. Sam had been in the middle of being fussed over by Bumblebee as Ratchet worked on him, causing the medic to threaten the scout with a wrench to the helm every two minutes. Will had been sitting patiently under First Aid's care, watching Ironhide entertain Annabelle. Optimus had been listening to Graham brief him on which of the prisoners had been identified so far.

Prowl's question was met with confusion on several faces, and the 2IC vented with some exasperation. "The government is going to ask what your names are. You can't simply use your human names when we are claiming that you died while seven captured Autobots were recovered."

That observation made Will and Epps exchange looks of dread and realization, the former letting out a groan as he pointed out, "And there's a good chance General Morshower at least will recognize some of our voices. Frag!"

Ratchet immediately responded, "If need be, I can temporarily deactivate the vocal processors of those he would recognize, but Prowl is correct about the designations."

There was quiet for a long moment as everyone thought the problem over. Sam finally spoke up, a wistful note in his vocals. "You know…Thinking it over, you could say the Matrix and the Allspark gave us a second chance to live…Kinda makes sense we would need new names to go with new faces. Do you guys mind if I use the name Chance?"

Everyone thought it was a fitting name for the former teen, Bumblebee chirping happily and hugging the smaller mech. With the first name chosen, picking out other names was fairly easy. Silverbolt had pointed out the each femme had Seeker builds suited for different attributes. Judy was a power build, Maggie was a stealth build, and Sarah was a speed build, so they chose names accordingly. Maggie gave herself the name Fadewing, while Sarah let Will name her, laughing when he called her the family Breeze. Judy had thought hard before asking for a synonym for _'blunt'_; First Aid offered up _'candid'_ as a suggestion, and Judy had nodded, decisively calling herself Candidforce in honor of her favorite weapon of persuasion: the baseball bat.

That had gotten a laugh out of everyone, before Will had looked at Epps with a grin. The mech suggested Epps take on the name he tended to give his video game characters. That had made Epps laugh even harder, but he agreed it would be cool to use the name for himself for once. Thus, Epps became Ebonshot.

Will was next, and it was Optimus who offered up the name Resolve, as to him, that was one of Will's most defining traits. Even better, it was a synonym for his human name, and Will gladly took it up.

This just left Annabelle, who asked if she could go by just Belle, but the group agreed that would tip off the wrong people almost immediately. It was Ironhide who suggested that since Annabelle had loved playing in water that they give her the name Seabell. The sparkling had chirped and beeped with glee at the name, crawling all over Ironhide happily, so her parents agreed she could have it.

The group took the rest of the time it took for transport to arrive to get used to using the new names. By the time the two hours of waiting passed, it was almost like they had never used their human names before. For better or for worse, the seven embraced their new lives as Cybertronians, as Autobots.

TBC...

**Aniyu: Okay, I'm happy now, so back to working on _Because of Renegade_! (zips away)**

**Anayi: She's going to get distracted again I just know it. Anyway, this is it work now, and the next chapter will come when it's ready. Oh, before anyone says anything, this will **_not_** be a Optimus/Judy, Epps/Jazz, or Epps/Jazz/Prowl fic. Epps will remain single for this, and Judy…well, you'll have to wait and see, but I can assure you she will not be paired with Optimus. R&amp;R please!**


End file.
